LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2016 – #24

LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2016 – #24   General Logos Summer Camps/Classes: We are excited to be offering more summer camps and classes than ever before. Check out the academic classes (English, math, Latin, logic) and the new camps (girls basketball, photography, engine camp). Enrollment is open and the brochure can be found here.   Easter/Spring Break: Just a reminder that Easter/Spring Break will last two weeks and a day this year, March 14-28. Have a wonderful time celebrating with your family!   Elementary 2^nd Grade Play: This Friday Miss Courtney’s class will be on stage performing By The Great Horn Spoon! The show will open at 8:35 with a recitation by the secondary choir. This performance will be in the gym.   Parent/Teacher Conferences (March 31 & April 1): Families with three or more students in the elementary will receive an email this week with details on how to sign up. If you fit this category, and don’t receive an email by Thursday evening, please contact the front office. All other families will receive an opportunity to sign up next week.   Secondary Rhetoric Speech Meet (10^th-12^th Grade): The meet will take place this Friday. All are welcome to attend the awards assembly at 2:30 in the auditorium.   Spring Sports: High school lacrosse and track begin February 26. Both teams have had preseason meetings. See Mr. Carnahan if you need more details.   Mock Trial Regionals: Our Mock Trial teams head to Coeur d’Alene this Saturday for the regional competition. Please keep them in your prayers as they travel and compete.     Why do Kids Need to Learn Math Facts? (Excerpt taken from k-5 Learning.com) So what’s the big deal with math facts?  Why in today’s day and age – with calculators and computers – do our kids really need to rote learn their basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division?  Isn’t this just ‘old school’? In this article we’ll touch on why kids need to learn math fact fluency.  But first, what do we mean by math fact fluency? Math facts fluency refers to the ability to recall the basic facts in all four operations accurately, quickly and effortlessly.  When students achieve automaticity with these facts, they have attained a level of mastery that enables them to retrieve them for long-term memory without conscious effort or attention. Brain imaging studies have shown how the progression from effortful processes, such as finger counting, to automatized retrieval is associated with actual changes in the regions of the brain involved in mathematical computation (Rivera, Reiss, Eckert and Menon, 2005). So why focus on math facts?   Math facts fluency leads to higher order mathematics Through automaticity students free up their working memory and can devote it to problem solving and learning new concepts and skills (Geary, 1994).  Quite simply, a lack of fluency in basic math fact recall significantly hinders a child’s subsequent progress with problem-solving, algebra and higher-order math concept.   Fluent math facts mean less confusion Math facts are important because they form the building blocks for higher-level math concepts.  When a child masters his/her math facts, these concepts will be significantly easier and the student will be better equipped to solve them faster.  If the child spends a lot of time doing the basic facts, he/she is more likely to be confused with the processes and get lost in their calculations.   Math fact automaticity affects performance – not only in math In later elementary, students have longer and more complicated computations to complete to check their understanding of various concepts.  At this stage, if a student does not have his/her math facts committed to memory, he/she will spend a disproportionate amount of time figuring out the smaller calculations and risk not completing the test.  This not only affects their performance in math class, but will also in other subjects, such as science and geography.   Less math anxiety Math can be compared to languages in some ways.  Just like you have to learn to combine letters into words and words into sentences – and we have strategies like phonics and sight words to help kids to learn to read - math facts are the foundation blocks for learning the next level of math.  There is rote learning involved in both language and math mastery. Math anxiety starts when children fall behind and can’t keep up.  To avoid these anxieties, students’ early elementary years should focus on learning the foundation math skills needed for later years – math facts are among those important math skills.   The Logos arithmetic standards can be found here.   Cheers,   Matt Whitling

LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2016 – #22

LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2016 – #22   Elementary Preschool 2016-17: The M/W/F class is currently full, but there is still room available in the T/Th class.   Midterms: Forms are due this Wednesday.   Secondary Rhetoric Speech Meet (10^th-12^th Grade): The meet will take place February 26. More details are available on the school website.   Elementary Friendship Over the past few weeks I have been visiting the elementary classes to discuss friendship. The conversation usually starts out with Proverbs 16:28, “A perverse man stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.” One of our goals is that your children will become close friends as they work and play together at Logos. Solomon tells us that gossip breaks friends apart. I discuss this with the students and then go on to identify other threats to friendship as well. We talk about the fact that at Logos, if you want a BFF, it’s Jesus and your family, everyone else is a good friend. We don’t want these friendships to be severed through ungodly exclusions (ignoring the 3^rd wheel) or friend hogs (who dominate one person and push everyone else away). As always, please feel free to follow up on these conversations at home and let me know if you have ideas for what could be covered in the future.   Cheers,   Matt Whitling  

LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2016 – #21

LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2016 – #21   Elementary Spelling Bee: The 1^st – 6^th graders will be competing in an in-school spelling bee February 4^th. Lists and rules are posted on the website under Academics/Elementary Program/Spelling Bee. The top two spellers from each class (3^rd-6^th grade) will compete in the final showdown at 1:00 in the auditorium. All are welcome.   Preschool-1^st Grade Midterms: Midterms will be coming home this Wednesday. Please sign the bottom of the form and return it by next Wednesday.   2^nd-6^th Grade Midterms: A blank midterm form will be coming home on Wednesday. Please log on to Renweb and help your child complete it. Our goal is to encourage families to check out Renweb and to help students use the midterm to plan for improvement in any areas that may need work. Please return these forms by next Wednesday.   Secondary Secondary Grades: We are halfway through the 3^rd quarter and grades are current in RenWeb. This would be a good time to sit down with your secondary student and check on their progress.   Rhetoric Speech Meet (10^th-12^th Grade): The meet will take place February 26. More details are available on the school website.   We have our secondary students evaluate each class they take each semester. Here are a few things that students had to say about Mrs. Courtney this fall: Mrs. Courtney -I enjoy your enthusiasm! -Mrs. Courtney is a wonderful teacher. I wish she taught more classes for us! -She loves history and always has a story. -Mrs. Courtney is one of my favorite teachers I’ve ever had. -She is very fun and surprising. She loves us. -She never ceases to make me laugh. She is full of joy and love. If you sin and apologize, she will forgive you fully. -I think Mrs. Courtney enjoys teaching. She is cheerful, fun, and interesting. It amazes me how much she knows that I don’t. -She is always happy and joyful. You can walk into the classroom unhappy and come out happy. -She is the kind of teacher I would like to be if I become one. -She is nice, but is also strict and wants you to understand what you are doing. -She loves, absolutely loves, working with the students.   Cheers,   Matt Whitling

LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2016 – #20

LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2016 – #20   General Reenrollment: Current student reenrollment for 2016-17 is taking place at this time. Simply follow the instructions below to secure a spot for your child via RenWeb.   To Reenroll:  log onto RenWeb and go to “Family Information …. Enrollment / Reenrollment.” Please complete no later than this Saturday, January 30.  This is for students currently enrolled at Logos who will be continuing here next year.  New students coming from current families must submit a new application.   Tuition raffle: The last day to enter the Logos Tuition Raffle is Wednesday, January 27.   Elementary 3^rd Grade Play: This Friday Mrs. Akin’s 3^rd grade class will be on stage. The play will open with a short 6^th grade recitation at 8:35 AM. All are welcome!   Spelling Bee: The 1^st – 6^th graders will be competing in an in-school spelling bee February 4^th. Lists and rules are posted on the website under Academics/Elementary Program/Spelling Bee.   Secondary Rhetoric Speech Meet (10^th-12^th Grade): The meet will take place February 26. More details are available on the school website.   We have our secondary students evaluate each class they take each semester. Here are a few things that students had to say about Mrs. Merkle this fall: Mrs. Merkle -Mrs. Merkle is a great teacher. She keeps our class awake during 6^th hour with our lively conversations. It’s really fun! -She makes Rhetoric my favorite class with her cheerfulness and challenges. -She always has a witty comeback and is a joy to listen to. She understands the minds of teens and knows how to deal with us whippersnappers…! Funnest teacher ever!! -Fun teacher who gets into the stories that we are reading and makes us think. Thank you! -Classicals (classical history and classical lit.) are spicy fun! -She knows a lot about history and the Bible and is good at teaching those things in a way that makes them very memorable. -She loves to work with students. -Mrs. Merkle is the greatest. -Beowulf is LEGIT. -British lit. is fun with Mrs. Merkle! -Mrs. Merkle is an awesome teacher. She is always ready to teach our silly class. She is preparing us for the outside world! -Thank you so much!   Cheers,   Matt Whitling  

LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2016 – #19

LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2016 – #19   Elementary Reading Group Volunteer: Mrs. Blum’s 1^st grade class is in need of someone to help with reading groups at the following times: M/W/Th: 10:50-11:20, Tues: 9:20-9:50. If you are interested, please contact her at mblum@logosschool.com.   Spelling Bee: The 1^st – 6^th graders will be competing in an in-school spelling bee February 4^th. Lists and rules are posted on the website under Academics/Elementary Program/Spelling Bee.     Secondary Rhetoric Speech Meet (10^th-12^th Grade): The meet will take place February 26. More details are available on the school website.   We have our secondary students evaluate each class they take each semester. Here are a few things that students had to say about Mrs. Whitling this fall: Mrs. Whitling -I really like the way she teaches. I understand math and she makes it fun. -Mrs. Whitling is always very cheerful, and that rubs off on us. -Focused but fun! -She’s funny yet strict. -Mrs. Whitling knows the material well and is very helpful. -She is a math wiz! -She is outgoing and fun, but you can tell when you are supposed to work. Mrs. Whitling is a very nice teacher. -I’ve never really loved math, but Mrs. Whitling makes it fun and easy. -We always have at least one laugh everyday! -Mrs. Whitling disciplines well, but only when needed. She is cheerful and really hilarious in class and makes it really enjoyable. -She is a good teacher and keeps the class in check. She is always willing to help, and I am doing a lot better in math because of her.   Cheers,   Matt Whitling

LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2016 – #18

LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2016 – #18   General Buffalo Wild Wings: Many of you received a Buffalo Wild Wings Home Team Advantage email last week from the school. This is a fundraiser in which if you show your server the Teammate Card they will donate 10% of your purchase back to the school. I’ve attached that document in case you’re interested.   Elementary Spelling Bee: The 1^st – 6^th graders will be competing in an in-school spelling bee February 4^th. Lists and rules are posted on the website under Academics/Elementary Program/Spelling Bee.     Secondary CTP 4 Tests (standardized testing): Testing will take place the week of January 18. Please avoid appointments during this week.   Rhetoric Speech Meet (10^th-12^th Grade): The meet will take place February 26. More details are available on the school website.   We have our secondary students evaluate each class they take each semester. Here are a few things that students had to say about Mr. Euhus this fall: Mr. Euhus -Happy all the time. Loves to teach Mathematics. -Consistently excellent. -He has a very good relationship with his students and is good at keeping the train on its tracks. -He is such a good teacher! We really learn the material and it’s not frustrating. -Best teacher I’ve ever had! Enjoy this class. -This is my favorite class when it comes to learning the material quickly and efficiently. -Mr. Euhus is a devoted teacher. He loves working with us. He always gives us courage that Physics is not that bad. -Mr. Euhus is an excellent Physics teacher. Physics is cool because you can see things happening. Mr. Euhus helps this by showing us how things work with real objects rather than just on the board. -He really knows his material. -Explains hard concepts super well. I’m really enjoying this class. Thanks! -Fun teacher who teaches at a good speed for students to grasp and understand what we are doing. Thank you! -Thank you Mr. Euhus!   Cheers,   Matt Whitling  

LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2016 – #17

LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2016 – #17   General WINTER BALL: This Friday, January 8, at the Logos Gym! Elementary 6:00-7:30pm/Secondary 7:30-10:00pm. $5.00 per person, or $15 per family. Parents are welcome to come for free! ATTIRE: Men: dress shirts, ties and slacks. Ladies: knee length dresses/skirts, no strapless/halter/or spaghetti strap tops; modest neckline. Clean, athletic shoes on floor only; no dress shoes or high heels.   Elementary Report Cards: Elementary report cards will come home this week with your children. Please sign and return the envelope, you may keep the card.   Spelling Bee: The 1^st – 6^th graders will be competing in an in-school spelling bee February 4^th. Lists and rules are posted on the website under Academics/Elementary Program/Spelling Bee.   Elementary Basketball Clinics: Saturday Hoops will run for the next two weekends!   Elementary Music: We have made a few adjustments in our elementary music classes now that Mrs. Erber is home anticipating the arrival of her new baby. Miss Kara Grammer will continue to teach preschool music. Mrs. Sandy Belschner is teaching K-3 music and Mr. Erber is teaching 4-6 music.   Secondary Report Cards: Secondary report cards will come home this week with your children.   CTP 4 Tests (standardized testing): Testing will take place the week of January 18. Please avoid appointments during this week.   Rhetoric Speech Meet (10^th-12^th Grade): The meet will take place February 26. Selections are due this coming Monday. More details are available on the school website.   We have our secondary students evaluate each class they take each semester. Here are a few things that students had to say about Mr. Struble this fall: Mr. Struble -He greatly enjoys the material. -I enjoy the lessons a lot, and the new information is interesting. -Discipline-if you don’t pay attention in class you fail. Your fault. It’s great. -Wonderful teacher. -He’s extremely knowledgeable. -He taught me that Bio. can be a blast. -He makes science fun and tells awesome stories. -Absolutely brilliant! -Mr. Struble is so smart and it blows my mind. I appreciate how he is very patient with us since Biology has some difficult concepts to grasp. -He is the best at what he does. -Mr. Struble’s classes are fantastic. I have learned so much in the last few months. Chemistry is one of my favorite parts of the day. -I didn’t expect myself to enjoy Chemistry, but now it is my favorite class! -He enjoys working with kids and loves to perform exciting experiments. -Thank you!   Cheers,   Matt Whitling  

LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2015 – #16

LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2015 – #16   General Fight’n Knight Day: This Friday students are welcome to wear their Logos t-shirts and nice jeans to celebrate the last day before Christmas break.   Elementary 3^rd Grade Play: This Friday Mrs. Loyd’s class will be putting on a Christmas play. The show will open with a 2^nd grade (Courtney) recitation at 8:35 AM. All are welcome to attend.   Saturday Hoops: There are three hoops dates left: Dec. 19, Jan. 9, and Jan. 16. This is a busy time of year, and it is just fine if an athlete misses a Saturday or two.   Secondary Trivia Day: This Friday after finals we will play our traditional game of “Logos Trivial Pursuit” and have a pizza party.  Guys, please bring six “individual” drinks - cans of pop, bottles of water, or Gatorade (No two-liter bottles please).  Ladies, please bring something for dessert.   We have our secondary students evaluate each class they take each semester. Here are a few things that students had to say about Miss Larsen this fall: -Miss Larsen is always so joyful and happy about Latin. -She really knows Latin well, so when we have a question she can answer easily and confidently. -I like the games and when we act out the chapters. It’s really helpful. -She really loves answering questions. -Miss Larsen is very optimistic and always smiles, and she knows Latin very well. -I like Miss Larsen because she is always bubbly and cheerful. -I think Miss Larsen really loves to work with us. She is very loving and sweet. -I like Miss Larsen a lot. She makes Latin fun. -Miss Larsen loves Latin, and loves her students. Gratias, Magistra! -She is stern when you are out of line, but she is fun when you are being good. -Miss Larsen is cheerful and bright. I look forward to her class everyday. She is clear in what she teaches and it’s easy to understand.       Cheers,   Matt Whitling  

LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2015 – #15

LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2015 – #15   General Christmas Program: The Logos Christmas Program will take place in the gym this Friday, December 11 at 7:00 PM. All are invited to attend! The rehearsal will take place the same day at the following times: Secondary 8:25-9:15, Elementary (preschool-6^th) 9:30-10:30. Elementary students will meet in the classrooms at 6:45 PM and secondary students in the auditorium at 6:30. Please bring preschoolers right to the gym at 6:45 PM. After they sing, the preschool-1^st grade students will go to the back of the auditorium to meet and sit with their parents for the rest of the evening. Attire for performers…   Elementary: Logos dress uniform (young ladies may wear a special Christmas dress if desired, and young men are welcome to wear blazers).   Secondary: Logos dress uniform only. Blazers for young men and women are welcome.   Uniforms: This Friday is not a dress uniform day. Students will wear their normal uniforms to school on Friday so that their dress uniform is crisp and clean for the Christmas program that evening.   Elementary Homework-0-Meter Results: Homework surveys are in, and we’ve crunched the numbers below (averaged between the double classes). Parents, thank you for taking the time to complete the surveys!   Grade / Actual Numbers / Guideline Targets (per night/5 days a week): 1^st            =          14 min.            (15 min.) 2^nd       =          17 min.            (30 min.) 3^rd        =          18 min.            (45 min.) 4^th        =          29 min.            (45 min.) 5^th        =          50 min.            (45 min.) 6^th        =          47 min.            (60 min.)     Saturday Hoops: All Logos 1^st through 6^th grade boys are cordially invited to participate in a series of basketball clinics that will focus on the fundamentals of shooting, passing, dribbling, and defense. All clinics will take place on Saturdays from 9 – 11 AM in the Logos gym and will be coached and directed by Jed Whitling and Logos High School basketball players on the following dates: Dec. 12, 19 & Jan. 9, 16. The cost is $20 for all four clinics. This is a great way to spend a Saturday morning and to get ready for the upcoming Moscow Parks and Recreation season. Registration (form attached) was due last Friday, but there is still space available.     Secondary Grades: We are two weeks out from the end of the semester. This is a good time to sit down with your secondary student and look at their grades on RenWeb.   Trivia Day: Next Friday after finals we will play our traditional game of “Logos Trivial Pursuit” and have a pizza party.  Guys, please bring six “individual” drinks - cans of pop, bottles of water, or Gatorade (No two-liter bottles please).  Ladies, please bring something for dessert.   We have our secondary students evaluate each class they take each semester. Here are a few things that students had to say about Mr. Dickison this fall:   -Mr. Dickison is an awesome history teacher. He knows everything and he makes class really fun to be in. -He is very organized. He is probably the calmest teacher and is always prepared. -He makes history fun and he is happy when he teaches. I really like this class! -He is one of the best teachers I’ve had. -Mr. Dickison’s class is really enjoyable. I like how he teaches and he is a cheerful, but not easy teacher. I really enjoy class with Mr. Dickison. -He is good at keeping the class on topic and focused. -After teaching us to read well, he does so himself. -I’m not one who especially likes impromptus or writing assignments, but Mr. Dickison picks interesting and fun topics to write and speak on. -I really appreciate his control of the classroom. He creates an optimal environment in which to learn. He also makes us think and asks thought provoking questions. I also genuinely appreciate his classy style. -When we get off-topic, it’s about things that are actually interesting, and actually matter in our lives. -I like the poetry he reads. -Mr. Dickison is really humble and always eager to teach. He is a great teacher. -It’s obvious that Mr. Dickison loves to read, which is really awesome. -He knows the material really well. -Thank you so much!     Cheers,   Matt Whitling  

LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2015 – #14

General Fight’n Knight Day! This Tuesday is a Fight’n Knight Day. Students are allowed to wear their Logos t-shirts and nice jeans to school. Then come out to the gym to cheer on our high school boys basketball team against Troy (JV: 6:00, Varsity 7:00).   Elementary 2^nd Grade Play: This Friday Mrs. Kimmell and Mrs. Miller’s class will be on stage. The show will open at 8:35 AM with a recitation by Mrs. Merkle’s Kindergarteners. All are welcome.   Front Parking Lot: Please do not leave your cars unattended in the lanes out front. If you need to come in to drop off or pick up your student, find a parking spot and come right in. If you are doing a quick drop off or pick up, and you will be staying in your car, feel free to use the right lane out front. Thank you!   Saturday Hoops: All Logos 1^st through 6^th grade boys are cordially invited to participate in a series of basketball clinics that will focus on the fundamentals of shooting, passing, dribbling, and defense. All clinics will take place on Saturdays from 9 – 11 AM in the Logos gym and will be coached and directed by Jed Whitling and Logos High School basketball players on the following dates: Dec. 12, 19 & Jan. 9, 16. The cost is $20 for all four clinics. This is a great way to spend a Saturday morning and to get ready for the upcoming Moscow Parks and Recreation season. Registration (form attached) is due December 4, this Friday!   Midterms: Please remember to return your midterms by December 2.   Secondary Fall Finals Schedule: Final exams will take place the week before Christmas break. See the attached schedule to start planning ahead.   We have our secondary students evaluate each class they take each semester. Here are a few things that students had to say about Mrs. Lloyd this fall:   -Mrs. Lloyd has an infectious passion for God and this translates perfectly to the classroom. She makes school a pleasure. -She loves God and seems to really enjoy teaching us His doctrine. -She makes us honestly think about everything. -She cares for us and wants us to do well, but she doesn’t make assignments easy. She makes them difficult because that’s what will help us in the long run. -We’ve talked about and learned so much in this class, it’s amazing. -LOVE the challenge this class presents. -Really like how willing she is to go over concepts after class and how much she brings real world examples into the discussions. -She’s witty, yet never cruel. Mrs. Lloyd is seriously the best. I’m quite thankful for her time and teaching and will miss her next year. -I love how her teaching is steeped in scripture. Here desire for us to succeed is amazing. I love her two classes! They’re hard, but they’re my favorites! Thanks! -Overall, Mrs. Lloyd is a very fun teacher who loves her students and the Lord. It is great having teachers like her at this school.   Cheers,   Matt Whitling